The Young Hunter: Chapter 1
by WolfHoundWarrior
Summary: This story is told from the point of view a sixth grade girl named Hazel Moore. On an October weekend at her home in Kansas, Hazel fights a ghost and meets two strangers; Sam and Dean. When she is told she is in danger and has to flee her home, she is determined to become a hunter and figure out why Crowley is after her.


Chapter 1: The Mysterious House Down the Street from My Home

I focused on the branch I was reaching for, stretching out my arms and grabbing the tree limb. I pressed my feet against the trunk and pulled myself up.

"I think this is high enough for the tree house." I shouted back down to my friend, Harper, who was standing on the ground with a stack of wood and assorted tools piled next to her. I held about five different ropes, each one extremely long. I tied one to the highest branch I could reach from where I was standing and threw the other end of the rope down to Harper.

"Send up the tools and a few of your strongest wood boards!" I yelled.

"Okey dokey!" Harper yelled back. She tied the loose end of the rope to two separate, shorter lengths of rope and tied it all to a giant wooden board. She piled a few pieces of lumber, some hammers, and nails on the wooden board.

I pulled the objects up and made a platform that would some day be the floor of the tree house. I found a store-bought rope ladder amidst the building materials. I tied it in to some wooden pegs and tested it out. It was perfect.

"Okay, come on up!" I invited Harper to join me.

"Wow Hazel, that was quick. And it doesn't wobble at all. This is awesome!" Harper exclaimed.

I looked out over our view of the neighborhood. Behind my house was the old Stonefield Cemetery. At the end of our street I saw the old, abandoned mystery house. 2018 Apple Pond Hollow was the address. Our house was two houses over; 2020 Apple Pond Hollow. I disliked living so close to the "Mystery House Down the Street" because I swore that there was a ghost in there but I was never allowed to explore it. So close yet so far away, was what I always thought when I saw it. I sighed and went back to building.

It was dark and Harper and I had our feet on the ground, crouching next to the fire burning in the fire pit. Red sparks flew into the air and vanished before going anywhere. We held out metal sticks with fluffy white marshmallows stuck on the ends. Harper's was browning perfectly, but I got a bit impatient and held my marshmallow closer to the fire, where it caught aflame.

"Crap!" I cursed, rapidly blowing on the fiery marshmallow.

"Patience is a virtue." Harper said, laughing a bit.

"Well, at least I can go ahead and eat a s'more!" I said, squishing it between a chunk of chocolate and two graham crackers.

I savored the s'more, eating it awkwardly so I didn't get melted marshmallow on my clothes. A bit of the s'more dropped on the ground and my bloodhound, Sheba, was there right away, licking up the rare treat.

"So, what should we do when we're done?" Harper asked.

"I'm thinking we should get Penner and Timothy and play zombie apocalypse." I replied matter-of-factly.

"Good idea!" Harper said in approval. "I swear I'll be last human standing this time. You can't keep your record too long!"

"You wish!" I said playfully.

We had finished eating and were just about to get the boys, (who were my younger brother and his best friend), when we heard a loud scream.

"It's coming from 2018!" I exclaimed. I jumped a little and ran into the house, grabbing a huge container of iodized salt that was on the counter and exiting through the front door.

I ran faster than I had thought my legs were capable of and kicked open the door to the abandoned house. (Which was completely unnecessary, but I felt it was mandatory). I burst in and saw right in front of me one of my neighbors, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Whitney being attacked by a ghost. The ghost flickered in and out of view but was obviously a young girl in a white night gown with tangled black hair. I was shocked even though this was what I had expected. I forgot what I had practiced in that moment of disbelief, but regained my composure, racing to an area in the room where enough of the lights from the street filtered through so I could see. I poured a wide circle of salt on the creaky, rotting boards and stood in the middle.

"Over here!" I shouted to the frightened teenagers.

The two ran over, though Aaron had to practically drag Whitney.

"Don't break the circle!" I ordered.

"Why should we listen to you? This is a circle of _salt!_" Whitney demanded.

"I know what I'm doing." I said.

I looked around the crumbling room, searching for something iron. The only things I saw were all too dusty to make out what they were, in the shadows especially. Than I noticed a brick fireplace... with a fire poker propped up next to it. It was my only chance.

I hopped out of the circle and made a run for the fireplace, but the ghost appeared in front of me. I now noticed how creepy she was up close. I stumbled back and when the ghost came at me again I curved around her and grabbed the fire poker. I always used this strategy when playing tag, why shouldn't it have worked now?

The ghost angrily "flickered" towards me. I held out the fire poker and sliced it right through her. She vanished for a moment, giving me enough time to re-enter the circle of salt. Than I watched in horror as a gust of wind blew a portion of the salt away and the ghost appeared, now able to come closer.

At this same moment, two men ran in. One was tall and had sort-of long hair, (for a guy), and the other had shorter hair and was holding a gun. I looked at them nervously as the ghost advanced. Could I trust them? I thrust the fire poker through the ghost again, as if I was wielding a sword. This time it's disappearance was even shorter, and when it appeared once again it was so close I could see every detail of her pale face and the dark circles under her malicious eyes. The man with the gun pointed his firearm at the ghost and shot it. The tall man helped Aaron and the traumatized Whitney out of the house and I followed, happy to get out.

Harper was standing wide-eye outside of the house waiting for me. She was too afraid to speak about the ghost she had just seen me fight. I gave her a reassuring glance and confronted the two men.

"Who are you? Why were you there?" I asked, standing right in front of them.

"We were wondering the same about you." the shorter one said.

I just gave them my best evil eye and stood adamantly on the sidewalk, blocking there path. I realized I was still holding the fire poker and I held it tightly.

"We're special agents Smith and Smith -" the average-height one started, but I interrupted.

"Don't give me that crap!" I ordered. "Give me your real names!"

The two men exchanged a look and the taller one spoke this time.

"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean." he told me.

I looked at them for a moment before deciding to believe them.

"And why were you here?" I asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"We hunt things like ghosts. We hunt monsters." Sam said.

My eyes lit up after hearing this.

"Don't get any ideas kid." Dean warned.

"Uh, I won't try anything stupid." I lied.

"So, who are you and how did you know how to fight the ghost?" Sam asked. "Are your parents hunters?"

"I'm Hazel Moore. My parents aren't hunters, but I did my research." I said. "We burn the bones next, right?"

"What do you mean, 'we?'" Dean said. "You're better off forgetting about this and letting us take care of it."

"Like that's possible." I said, rolling my eyes. "Do you think I'm just going to stay home when I could be in a graveyard burning bones?"

"You're one weird kid." Dean said.

"Yep." I said. "But I know who the ghost is... and I'm not telling unless you let me help." I said smugly, happy with my bribe.

Sam and Dean exchanged that "look" again before one started to speak.

"We promise you can help us. Who is the ghost?" Sam asked.

"Winterlynn Rosenburg." I informed them. "Buried in Stonefield Cemetery."

"Wow, okay then..." Sam said, "What are you going to tell your parents and your friend over there?"

"The cemetery's pretty much right behind my house. That's how I know Winterlynn's buried there." I said. "I could tell them the scream was just a prank, I know Harper, my friend over there, will play along, and than we could just go to the cemetery. My parents wouldn't care because sometimes Harper and I dare each other to go into the cemetery at night. They'd probably assume that's what I'm doing."

I thought for a moment, concocting the perfect plan. "I'll tell my parents it was a prank, go into my backyard, climb the fence and I'll be in the cemetery. You can go around the house and wait for me when you reach the cemetery."

"I guess we have it all figured out than." Dean said. Both Dean and Sam looked a bit confused about the fact they were being ordered around by an eleven-year-old, (namely me), but departed for the cemetery anyway.

I told the planned-out lie to my parents and escaped to the backyard. I had smuggled a flashlight from the kitchen counter and used it to see through the solid shadows. I pointed the beam towards the back fence as I made my way to the back of the yard. Soon enough, I reached the simple, chicken wire fence... and when I looked back I saw Harper, her blond hair and neon clothes warning me of her presence.

"Harper! You... you can't follow me, I have some important stuff to do!" I said urgently in a hushed voice.

"I saw the ghost and heard your conversation with those two men. You can't just trust random strangers, didn't you learn anything from those fairy tales you loved so much when you were younger?" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I trust these people. They're not starving wolves or evil witches who live in candy houses; if it weren't for them I would have died by ghost attack!" I said angrily. "Just don't tell my parents, okay?"

"I won't tell your parents... if you let me come with you." Harper said.

"Okay, just follow me than."

I handed Harper the flashlight and climbed up to the top of the fence. I sat on the top for a moment before hopping down. Harper tossed the flashlight back to me and I waited for her to climb over the fence too.

"This way." I said, leading the way to the entrance of the cemetery. Before I reached the enormous stone archway with the iron gate, I noticed a light further into the cemetery where Winterlynn's grave was.

"Oh no." I exclaimed in a whisper. I ran to the light, which I saw was a fire as I got closer, leaving Harper behind.

"I should have known you would do it without me!" I accused furiously. "This could have been my first hunt! But it's not a hunt if you don't complete it by burning the bones." I pointed at the fire.

"You're just a kid, you have a choice. You don't want to follow the path of a hunter." Dean warned. "You helped us with this hunt, but that's the end of it."

"_I _helped _you_?! Two teenagers would have been dead if it wasn't for me! I-" I broke off, fuming with anger before continuing. "You should train me to be hunter too." I said this last part quieter and calmer.

"Hazel, no!" Harper exclaimed as she came up behind me. "How about your parents?"

"We're not training you to be a hunter. Deal with it." Dean said.

"I won't have it any other way. I _will _become a hunter. Wouldn't it be better for you to train me rather than letting me try it out on my own?" I asked.

Suddenly I heard the sound of wings and a man in a trench coat appeared next to Sam and Dean.

"You two have to come with me." He said. "The girl too."

I smirked before completely taking in what was happening.

"Why?" I asked.

"You're in danger." was all he said. "Go and pack anything you want to bring."

I nodded and ran back to my house, expertly jumping over the fence again. I sneaked past my parents and into my room. I grabbed a backpack and shoved a few random articles of clothing inside. I added an extra flashlight and my journal I had compiled all of my knowledge of the supernatural in. Finally I grabbed a sentimental, small, stuffed wolf who had seen better days and put it carefully on top of everything else in my backpack. I wrote a quick note and stuff it in my pocket.

My next stop was the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and found my wallet lying on the counter, probably from when I found it in one of my pant pockets. I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror for a second. I looked like a non-average kid: brown-blond hair, green highlights, grayish-bluish-greenish eyes, a gray jacket, bootcut jeans and some tennis shoes with neon green laces with knee-high super hero socks underneath. This person, me, was about to go off with two hunters and some random teleporting guy because they said I was in danger. This was the life of adventure I had always wanted, but now I wondered if I was being a bit impulsive. I knew I would miss my parents immensely.

"I have to." I sighed. I swiftly left and exited my house. My green backpack was secured on my back, the only thing I actually held was my flashlight. I entered the cemetery once more and joined with Sam, Dean, and Teleporting Guy.

"Don't do this!" Harper said.

"I'm going to do this. Give this note to my parents." I said, handing Harper a neatly folded note I had made while in the house.

Sam and Dean touched the teleporting guy and I joined.

Suddenly I had dizzily appeared in a messy old cabin.

"What's this all about Cas?" Dean asked.

"Crowley is after the girl." He said.

"Hazel." I said. "Who's Crowley? Why is he after me?"

"Crowley is King of Hell. I don't know why he's after you." Said the teleporting guy, Cas

"So when I felt like I was being followed all those times, I wasn't just paranoid?" I asked.

"Yes, exactly." Cas replied.

I stood there, pondering the situation. The King of Hell was what I had least expected. "What now?" I asked.

"I guess we have no choice. We're gonna have to let you come with us on whatever hunts we have." Sam said. "But you need a bit of training first."


End file.
